VZCZCXRO7439
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHKH #0942/01 1090911
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 190911Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2409
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KHARTOUM 000942 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: TBD 
TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR PREF SU
SUBJECT:  Southern Sudan:  Unidentified Militia Menaces 
Pochalla, Attacks Villages 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The SPLA force commander in Pochalla 
told a WFP security officer that an unknown militia group 
attacked a small village between Akobo and Pochalla on 
the Ethiopian border on April 12.  According to the 
commander, the group looted and occupied the village for 
three days and then began moving towards Pochalla. 
During this time, women and children in Pochalla fled 
into the bush for safety.  By April 15, the militia group 
had reportedly returned to Ethiopia before reaching the 
town, the women and children had returned, and the 
situation was calm.  While the SPLA commander in Pochalla 
believes the Ethiopian army orchestrated the attack, an 
SPLA spokesperson said that the Ethiopian army had not 
been given permission to cross the border and that the 
Ethiopian army remained in place, 17 km into Ethiopia. 
The UN security level for the area remains Phase 3 level 
4, but WFP security believes it will drop to level 2 or 3 
after an UNMIS team returns from its investigation on 
April 17.  End Summary. 
 
---------------------------- 
Cross-Border Ethnic Tensions 
---------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) The area around Pochalla is dominated by ethnic 
Anuaks, many of whom fled a massacre in Gambella in 2003. 
While these people are technically refugees, they do not 
live in camps and are fully integrated into the 
communities in Sudan.  The Anuak population moves freely, 
and frequently, between Ethiopia and Sudan. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The residents in Pochalla, including the Anuak 
SPLA commander, told the WFP security officer that the 
attackers, although not in uniform, were Ethiopian 
soldiers attempting to forcibly repatriate the Anuaks to 
Ethiopia.  The WFP security officer was unable to confirm 
the identity or origin of the attackers.  A WHO employee 
who was in Pochalla through April 14 also said that the 
women and children had fled Pochalla and subsequently 
returned.  Total casualties are unknown; in addition to 
the village they occupied, the militia reportedly looted 
other villages in their path during their foray and 
retreat. 
 
------------------- 
SPLA Says Sit Tight 
------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Pochalla SPLA commander told the WFP that he 
had requested permission from SPLA command to attack the 
militia group when it occupied the village north of 
Pochalla, but was told to stand down for fear of 
escalating the situation.  According to an SPLA 
spokesperson, there have been some tensions between the 
SPLA and the Ethiopian army because the Ethiopians 
suspect an Anuak SPLA officer in the area of being 
involved with rebel activities in Ethiopia. 
 
---------------------- 
Conclusion and Comment 
---------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Early reports described a coordinated effort 
between the Ethiopian Army and the SPLA to enter Sudan. 
The SPLA and the Ethiopian army have been collaborating 
on disarming refugee militias, but the SPLA is disarming 
the Anuaks in Sudan, while the Ethiopians disarm Nuer in 
their country.  An SPLA spokesperson denies giving 
permission for this attack or for any incursion by the 
Ethiopian Army into Sudan.  Reports of border closings 
have also been disputed by both the SPLA and sources on 
the ground. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The identity of the raiding force remains 
unclear, as does the reason it turned back before 
reaching Pochalla.  There are unconfirmed reports that 
the GoSS and the governor of Jonglei secretly brokered a 
deal with the Ethiopian government to stop the attack. 
GoSS contacts have been unavailable over the Easter 
holiday.  It is possible that the force feared the 
response of the Anuak militia and SPLA defense forces in 
Pochalla, and had only planned to loot the more 
vulnerable outer settlements. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The SPLA commander in Pochalla told the WFP that 
he was very disappointed with the weak response from the 
SPLA command.  However, considering the SPLA commander's 
conviction that the Ethiopian army was behind the 
attacks, the SPLA may have simply feared the commander 
would use these raids as an excuse to attack the 
Ethiopian army position just across the border. 
 
KHARTOUM 00000942  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
STEINFELD